Narendra Modi’s second innings as the Prime Minister is likely to begin on May 30. Over the last two decades, Bharatiya Janata Party has changed the way how parliamentary elections are fought in this country and while there was an initial criticism of the party for turning them into presidential style elections like in the United States, Indian voter more or less seems to have settled and accepted it as the norm. This has rendered a candidate almost worthless, broken down local caste equations that used to rule the roost in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and have established a pan-Indian leadership at least in the BJP. 

The 2019 elections, in particular, will go a long way in breaking the hegemony of regional satraps like the Yadav family and Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh, Lalu’s heirs in Bihar, Mamata Banerjee in Bengal, Sharad Pawar in Maharashtra, and Chandra Babu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh. Even the likes of Nitish Kumar in Bihar and the Thackerays in Maharashtra are shining in borrowed light from the BJP that has been the driving force behind the successful alliances in both these states. There have been a few exceptions like YSR Congress in Andhra, Naveen Patnaik in Odisha and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu. But as the BJP strengthens its grip on Indian electorate, as it has done following the meteoric rise of the Modi-Shah duo, they, too, won’t be able to bask in the sunshine for long. This actually makes the task for Modi and his party more difficult. India consists of states that are larger than many nations in the world and the diversity, therefore, is vast. 

Each state’s aspersions are unique and often in contradiction to each other, at times even harming the federal structure of India. Apart from this, there is also the widening gap between the haves and the have-nots, which is going to be a challenge in the coming years. Once predominantly rural, the country is rapidly undergoing transformation with more areas turning semi-urban and urban. This too is going to prove to be a big headache for a party that aspires to rule the nation with the slogan Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas (All together, grow together). While less number of hands is now engaged in farming, there are more hands that are searching for jobs in the new India that is shiny and bright. Providing sustainable livelihood for both these classes will be a tight rope walk. 

The voters have reposed their faith in the Modi sarkar, because they believe he alone is capable of keeping the country safe in the times of growing terror around India and also for keeping his promise of corruption-free governance. The first five years were spent in walking in the direction of Achche din that Modi had promised in 2014. The next five years will define his legacy as an administrator. It is here that his real challenge lies. They say that success has many fathers and failure has none. In a unique case, one can safely say that father of this success that the BJP tasted in 2019 elections is Narendra Modi and it will be him that the nation will be looking with earnest hope to deliver.